Education

UNI history professor Jennifer McNabb

Who were the Vikings?

Vikings. Scourge of the sea. Pillaging and plundering their way through Europe. The feats of these legendary warriors have persisted throughout history and into the stories of modern pop culture, from the various appearances of Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to the popular television series “Vikings” on the History channel.
student and professor flying a drone

Taking computer science to new heights

Nowadays, drones are used for everything from topographical mapping, search and rescue efforts, traffic and safety studies, and even package delivery. As businesses and agencies find creative new ways to utilize drones, so too must developers find creative ways to build and program these drones to meet a variety of needs – and students in the UNI Department of Computer Science are doing just that.
UNI student Savannah Scallon

UNI student teachers persevere through COVID-19

As COVID-19 prompted abrupt, statewide school closures, University of Northern Iowa student teachers on the cusp of becoming fully certified educators found themselves suddenly transitioning the remainder of their semester to an online format and interviewing for positions remotely.  It was a jarring shift, but these students had already completed over 100 hours of classroom experience prior to student teaching and were ready to handle the task. 
UNI professor Michael Graziano

5 Questions with Michael Graziano

When local public school teachers started emailing Michael Graziano, UNI professor of religions, for advice on how to handle religion in the classroom he saw an unmet need. Now, a new $10,000 grant from the Whiting Foundation will allow Graziano to develop a seminar on religion for public school teachers.
UNI educational leadership assistant professor Matt Townsley

5 questions with UNI professor Matt Townsley

UNI professor Matt Townsley wants to see an education revolution. In his upcoming book “Making Grades Matter,” co-written with Nathan Wear, the UNI educational leadership assistant professor lays out the path for middle and high schools to abandon traditional letter grades in favor of a standards-based grading model. In this conversation, he outlines his case for why schools should rethink the way they think about grades and learning.
UNI student Caleb Christine works in the Industrial Technology Center.

It's never too late to pursue a dream

These days, Caleb Christine has a lot of time to think. Mostly because he spends a lot of time in his car. He has time to look back and peer ahead, to reflect on his time as a soldier, a police officer, a truck driver and a college drop-out. It’s his time to take stock of the many decisions that led him, at 38 years old with a wife and three kids, to enroll at the University of Northern Iowa and pursue a new career as an industrial technology teacher.
Former First Lady Laura Bush speaks at UNI.

Former First Lady Laura Bush addresses the importance of education at UNI lecture series

Former First Lady of the United States Mrs. Laura Bush addressed the importance of education as well as tackling the challenges facing future generations before a full crowd at the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center Wednesday evening as part of the University of Northern Iowa's Joy Cole Corning Distinguished Leadership Lecture Series.
A UNI student teaches in the classroom.

UNI and AASCU lead national effort on educator preparation

In September, the UNI and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), a leading national higher education association based in Washington, D.C., released a comprehensive policy framework to revitalize the federal government’s role in educator preparation. The UNI-AASCU collaboration has been named the Project to Revitalize the Educator Preparation in America, or PREP America, in recognition of the need to develop new, meaningful solutions to longstanding challenges confronting…